Archer recalled by England for Lord's Test

Jofra Archer will return to Test cricket at Lord's on Thursday after a four-and-a-half year absence. Elbow and back injuries have long restricted Archer to a white-ball diet but he returned to first-class cricket for Sussex last month, and has been named in England's team to face India on the ground where he made his Test debut six years ago, replacing Josh Tongue.

Archer has only bowled 18 overs in first-class cricket in the last four years, but Ben Stokes insisted he is ready to go. "Jofra has played a lot of cricket over the last two-and-a-half years," Stokes, England's captain, said. "If we didn't think he was in a position to get through a Test match as a bowler, we wouldn't even be considering him for selection."

Archer's return to Test cricket comes in similar circumstances to his debut, with England struggling to dislodge an opposition batter. In 2019, Archer was brought in after Steven Smith's twin hundreds at Edgbaston and hit him on the helmet during a lightning-fast spell; now, he will be tasked with dislodging Shubman Gill after his 430-run match in Birmingham.

"It's obvious whenever he does get the ball in his hand there is that change in the game," Stokes said. "The opposition feel it as well, because they know what he can do in a spell. I don't think there's any reason we can't see Jofra Archer operating at the level that we saw here at Lord's on his debut.

"It's great for English fans, but also for Jof. It's been a long time coming for him. The way in which he's handled the injury setbacks over a period has been very commendable… It's very exciting for the group. It's a pretty great day, and Jof can be pretty proud of himself that he's managed to get himself back here after two pretty big injury scares."

Archer for Tongue is England's only change from the side that were thrashed by 336 runs last week. Tongue is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 11, but has conceded 4.56 runs per over and has endured a heavy workload. Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes retain their spots despite bowling 77 and 81 overs respectively in the first two Tests.

Carse appeared to be struggling with a toe injury at Edgbaston, and did not bowl after the 27th over of India's second innings. But Ben Stokes insisted the issue was his footwear rather than his feet themselves, and Carse has kept his place after Gus Atkinson was not deemed ready to return from the hamstring strain he sustained against Zimbabwe in May.

Atkinson is expected to be released from the squad to play for Surrey in the T20 Blast, and is targeting the fourth Test in Manchester on July 23 for a potential Test comeback. His injury was initially downplayed by England but his rehabilitation has taken longer than expected to the extent that he has not played competitive cricket for six weeks.

Archer took 42 wickets at 31.04 in the 13 Tests he played between 2019 and 2021, including 20 at 20.27 in the 2019 Ashes. But he was overbowled and misused by Joe Root, who infamously said that Archer should "unleash a little bit more" after using him for 42 overs in an innings on a flat pitch in Mount Maunganui, and he has spent four years recovering from multiple injuries.

England have taken a cautious approach with Archer this summer. He could have been available for the first Test of the series but for a thumb injury he sustained at the IPL, and Stokes opted not to pick him at Edgbaston last week because he wanted him to spend a week training with the squad before his return.

It is not yet clear whether Archer will share the new ball with Woakes or replace Tongue as first change, and Stokes said he will not go into the Test with any "pre-conceived ideas" around managing his workload. "It will all be [an] in the moment kind of thing - same with anyone," he said. "If you do get a sense to give them an extra over or two than you originally planned…"

Archer regularly bowled on practice pitches during the Edgbaston Test under the watchful eye of England's assistant coaches, and was deemed "ready to go" by Brendon McCullum. England have asked for "plenty of life" in the surface this week, but Lord's pitches have typically been slow in recent years and have got better for batting as Test matches wear on.

Mark Wood also trained with England at Lord's on Wednesday morning as he targets a return from his knee injury for the fifth Test. While that timeframe may prove too tight, England's management will remain optimistic about the prospect of unleashing Archer and Wood in tandem in Australia for this winter's Ashes series.

England XI: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Shoaib Bashir.